Volume Profile Explained: POC, VAH & VAL
A volume profile flips the chart on its side and shows where volume actually traded by price, not by time. That reveals the levels the market agreed were fair — the POC, the value area, and the thin gaps price rips through. Here is how to read it.
Senzoukria · Learn · Updated June 2026
A standard chart plots volume by time — one bar per candle. A volume profile plots volume by price — a horizontal histogram showing how much traded at every level. That single change answers a different question: not “when was it busy?” but “which prices did the market agree on?”
The four numbers that matter
- POC (Point of Control) — the price with the most volume. The session’s centre of gravity; price gravitates back to it.
- Value Area — the band holding ~70% of the volume. Where the market considered price fair.
- VAH (Value Area High) — the top of value. Resistance while the market is balanced.
- VAL (Value Area Low) — the bottom of value. Support while the market is balanced.
High vs low volume nodes
Inside the profile, the shape itself is information:
- HVN (High Volume Node) — a fat bulge of volume. A zone of acceptance that attracts price and slows it down. Great for fading extremes back toward.
- LVN (Low Volume Node) — a thin notch. A zone of rejection price crosses fast. LVNs make clean breakout triggers and quick targets — once price leaves an HVN, the next LVN is often where it accelerates to.
How to actually trade it
Balance: fade the edges
When price is rotating inside the value area, the edges work as a range: VAL is support, VAH is resistance, and the POC is the mean. A poke outside value that gets rejected back in is a classic fade back toward the POC.
Imbalance: trade the acceptance
When price breaks out of value and the breakout trades real volume (acceptance, not a one-tick spike), the old VAH/VAL flips into support/resistance and the market is searching for a new value area. A break of VAL on volume is downside continuation; a break of VAH on volume is upside continuation. Confirm the break with order flow imbalance rather than price alone.
Profile shapes
- D-shape (bell) — balanced, fat middle. Rotational, mean-reverting; trade the edges.
- P-shape — volume bulge at the top, thin tail below. Short covering / trend up that found acceptance high.
- b-shape — bulge at the bottom, thin tail above. Long liquidation / acceptance low.
- Double distribution — two bulges with an LVN between. The market built two separate value areas; the LVN between them is a decision line.
Key takeaway: volume profile shows you where the market agreed (HVNs, the POC, the value area) and where it rejected price (LVNs). Trade toward agreement when balanced, and trade through rejection when value is breaking — confirmed by volume, not just a candle.
Volume profile vs footprint
A volume profile is the map — the structural levels (POC, value area) you mark before the session. A footprint is the microscope — how aggressors behave when price arrives at those levels. Use the profile to find where to watch and the footprint to read what happens when price gets there.
See it on live data
Senzoukria plots the volume profile with the live footprint and liquidity heatmap on your NinjaTrader, Apex / Rithmic or crypto feed — POC, VAH and VAL marked automatically. Try it with a free preview.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a volume profile?
- A volume profile is a histogram that shows how much volume traded at each price level over a chosen period, plotted horizontally. Instead of volume per time bar, you see volume per price — which exposes the levels the market spent the most effort defending.
- What is the POC (Point of Control)?
- The Point of Control is the single price level with the most traded volume in the profile. It is the fairest-priced level of the session and acts as a magnet — price tends to return to it. A move away from the POC that fails often snaps back to it.
- What are VAH and VAL?
- The value area is the price range where roughly 70% of the volume traded. VAH (Value Area High) is its upper edge and VAL (Value Area Low) is its lower edge. Trading inside the value area is balance; accepting price outside it (with volume) signals a move to a new range.
- What is the difference between an HVN and an LVN?
- A High Volume Node (HVN) is a price that traded a lot — a zone of agreement that attracts and holds price. A Low Volume Node (LVN) is a price that traded very little — a zone of rejection that price moves through quickly, which is why LVNs make good targets and breakout levels.